Fast-Track Nevada
Nevada elected officials pledge to end HIV Epidemic by 2030
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
LAS VEGAS – Southern Nevada elected officials and jurisdictional partners will sign on to the Fast-Track Cities Paris Declaration, as a formal commitment to end the HIV epidemic in Nevada by 2030, on Sunday, Dec. 1, at 11 a.m. at the Southern Nevada Health District’s public health center at 280. S. Decatur Blvd. The event will take place as the public health partners commemorate World AIDS Day.
The signing of the Paris Declaration marks the formal beginning of the Fast-Track Initiative in Nevada, a global partnership between the City of Paris, Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Human Settlement Program, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), as well as local, national, and international organizations and public health agencies.
“The Fast-Track Nevada Initiative represents the dedication and support of our local, state, federal, and global partners who are committed to providing comprehensive resources in our community and stopping the epidemic,” said Dr. Fermin Leguen, Acting Chief Health Officer for the Health District.
The Paris Declaration calls on cities to strengthen their local HIV/AIDS responses and pledge their support to ensure that:
- 90% of people living with HIV know their HIV status
- 90% of people living with HIV who know their HIV-positive status are on antiretroviral therapy (ART)
- 90% of people living with HIV on ART are achieving viral suppression
The initiative’s fourth target is to reduce the negative impact of discrimination and stigma to zero and is an equally important goal. More information on Fast-Track Cities is available here.
”We welcome Nevada as the first ‘Fast-Track State’ in the United States, and applaud the state, county, and city stakeholders who are committing themselves to attain and surpass the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets,” said Dr. José M. Zuniga, President/CEO of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), the Fast-Track Cities initiative’s core technical partner. “We will look to Nevada’s example as a beacon for our current and future US Fast-Track Cities (counties and states) striving to end HIV as a public health threat in every affected community.”
In Clark County in 2018:
- 10,341 people were living with HIV
- 457 people were newly diagnosed with HIV
- Seven in eight people newly diagnosed with HIV were male
- African American and Hispanic individuals accounted for 62 percent of all new HIV diagnoses
- Men who have sex with other men accounted for 83 percent of new HIV diagnoses in males
Fast-Track Cities is a global partnership between communities with an HIV burden and four core partners: the City of Paris, France, the first city to sign on; UNAIDS; IAPAC; and the United Nations Human Settlements Program.
About Fast-Track Cities:
Cities bear a large share of the global HIV burden. In countries with large HIV epidemics, the numbers of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in urban areas are so high that effective city-level action is likely to influence national outcomes. Even where an HIV epidemic is smaller, cities are home to large numbers of people belonging to populations at higher risk of HIV infection but which often receive limited attention in HIV programs. The Fast-Track Cities initiative is a global partnership between more than 250 high HIV burden cities, the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Human Settlements Program, and the City of Paris. The initiative was launched on World AIDS Day 2014 in Paris. More information is available at www.iapac.org/fast-track-cities.
About the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC):
IAPAC was founded more than three decades ago with a mission to improve access to, and the quality of, prevention, care, treatment, and support services deliver to people living with and affected by HIV and comorbid diseases, including tuberculosis and viral hepatitis (HBV and HCV). With more than 30,000 members globally, IAPAC is the largest association of clinicians and allied health professionals who are working to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. More information is available at www.iapac.org.
The Southern Nevada Health District serves as the local public health authority for Clark County, Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite and North Las Vegas. The agency safeguards the public health of the community’s residents and visitors through innovative programs, regulations, and initiatives focused on protecting and promoting their health and well-being. More information about the Health District, its programs, services, and the regulatory oversight it provides is available at www.SNHD.info. Follow the Health District on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.